Fifty years ago this week, on Aug. 6, 1965, as President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act, he declared, “This act flows from a clear and simple wrong. Its only purpose is to right that wrong. Millions of Americans are denied the right to vote because of their color. This law will ensure them the right to vote.”

WASHINGTON — Diners will have to wait until the end of 2016 to find calorie labels on all chain restaurant menus.

The Food and Drug Administration said Thursday that restaurants and other establishments will now have until December 1, 2016, to comply with federal menu labeling rules — one year beyond the original deadline.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley signed a bill into law Thursday that will bring down the Confederate flag outside the Statehouse, a move that seemed unthinkable only a month ago in this Deep South state that was the first to secede from the Union.

The law requires the battle flag to be gone within 24 hours; her staff said it would be removed during a ceremony at 10 a.m. today and relegated to the state’s Confederate Relic Room.

WASHINGTON — Republicans in Congress stumbled into the Confederate flag debate Thursday after Southern lawmakers protested a proposal to put new restrictions on displaying the banner on federal parklands, launching the party into a conversation many leaders would have preferred to avoid.

The uproar in the House rippled across Washington after an amendment banning Confederate flags — sponsored by a California Democrat, Rep. Jared Huffman — was attached to an otherwise routine budget bill making its way through Congress.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama’s nominee to head the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday that Russia poses the greatest threat to U.S. national security and it would be a reasonable military decision to supply lethal arms to Ukrainians fighting against rebels backed by Moscow. The White House quickly distanced the president from the remarks.

Women tend to live longer than men. But it wasn’t always that way, a new study says.

Adults born in the late 19th century were the first to see men dying at much higher rates than women. So the gender difference in life expectancy is fairly recent, and probably isn’t based on anatomy alone, researchers say.

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina House opened what could be its final debate over the Confederate flag Wednesday, deliberating a proposal that might remove the banner from the Capitol grounds before the end of the week.

The House is under pressure to act after the state Senate passed its own measure, which is supported by Gov. Nikki Haley. But some Republicans proposed changes to the Senate bill that would preserve some kind of symbol in front of the Statehouse to honor their Southern ancestors.

WASHINGTON — Medicare said Wednesday it plans to pay doctors to counsel patients about end-of-life care, the same idea that sparked accusations of “death panels” and fanned a political furor around President Barack Obama’s health care law six years ago.

The policy change, to take effect Jan. 1, was tucked into a massive regulation on payments for doctors. It suggests that what many doctors regard as a common-sense option is no longer seen by the Obama administration as politically toxic. Counseling would be entirely voluntary for patients.

MONCKS CORNER, S.C. — A collision between a small plane and an F-16 fighter jet that killed a father and son was the second fatal tragedy to strike their family in just four days, a relative told The Associated Press.

WASHINGTON — Federal law enforcement officials warned Wednesday that data encryption is making it harder to hunt for pedophiles and terror suspects, telling senators that consumers’ right to privacy is not absolute and must be weighed against public-safety interests.